Matt Tierney NP, CNS
Matt Tierney is a certified Nurse Practitioner on the national level in both Adult Primary Care and Psychiatry-Mental Health; he is also licensed by the state of California as a Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist. Matt received a Master of Science degree in Nursing from the University of California San Francisco, and has over 14 years experience in health care. His experience ranges from outpatient acute and urgent care, to hospital-based and other residential medically-managed substance abuse care, to intensive outpatient treatment for clients with co-occurring substance abuse disorders and mental health disorders. Matt’s approach to patient-centered care is based on a strong foundation in the biological, medical, and nursing sciences.
As a health care provider, Matt works with patients to understand their health goals and values. He has extensive experience in supportive therapies, including Motivational Interviewing, and works closely with clients and other team members at Gateway Psychiatric Services to design a health care plan that is patient-centered and inclusive of evidence-based practices. As such, patient education and empowerment are the heart of his treatment approach.
In addition to work at Gateway, Mr. Tierney is faculty at the UCSF School of Nursing. He is the administrative director of two outpatient programs that are part of San Francisco General Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry in the Division of Substance Abuse and Addiction Medicine, including director of San Francisco’s only clinic dedicated solely to opioid replacement therapy via the novel therapeutic medication buprenorphine, where he has worked with over two hundred clients. Matt is a member of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, and lectures extensively in San Francisco on Motivational interviewing and best practice treatments for clients with co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders.
Advanced Practice Nursing Experience
Nurse Practitioner III-Supervisor
San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), Department of Psychiatry
Division of Substance Abuse and Addiction Medicine (DSAAM)
January 2004-Present
- Administrative Director of the Office-Based Buprenorphine Induction Clinic (OBIC).
- Administrative Director of the Centralized Opiate Placement Evaluation (COPE) Program.
- Administrative Director and lead clinician for the Addiction Medicine Consultation and Treatment Service (AMCATS).
- Member of SFGH Medical Substance Abuse Committee.
- Member of SFGH Alcohol Task Force.
- Clinical work includes psychiatric assessment and treatment at the SFGH methadone clinic.
Nurse Practitioner II, Clinical Nurse Specialist
Gateway Psychiatric Services, San Francisco, CA
May 2002-Present
Nurse Practitioner II
San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), Department of Psychiatry
Division of Substance Abuse and Addiction Medicine (DSAAM)
April 2001 – January 2004
Clinician at Ozanam Medically Assisted Detoxification Unit, a 20-bed, 21-day residential facility.
Nurse Practitioner
Baker Places, Inc., San Francisco, CA
December 1999 – September 2002
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at residential substance abuse treatment programs.
Nurse Practitioner I
University of California San Francisco Medical Center
Division of General Internal Medicine (DGIM)
October 2000 – April 2001
Outpatient Acute Care NP.
Other Nursing Experience
R.N., Per Diem
San Francisco General Hospital, Department of Psychiatric Nursing
June 2000 – June 2003
Inpatient psychiatric care, including cultural focus units, forensic psychiatry, and Psychiatric Emergency Services (P.E.S.), San Francisco’s psychiatric emergency department.
R.N.
University of California San Francisco Medical Center
Division of General Internal Medicine (DGIM)
September 1998 – October 2000
Triage and clinical nursing in outpatient acute care unit.
Non-Nursing Experience
Medical Assistant, Lab Assistant, Front Office Worker
Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic, San Francisco, CA
August 1995 – March 1999
Writer, Editor, and Hotline Operator
Project Inform, San Francisco, CA
November 1995 – March 1997
Researcher, writer, and editor for “PI Perspective,” a monthly newsletter providing information on standard, alternative, and experimental treatments for HIV/AIDS. “Hotline operator” providing HIV treatment information to callers.
Education
M.S., Nursing, June 2000
University of California San Francisco, School of Nursing
Department of Community Health Systems
Psychiatric/Mental Health Adult Nurse Practitioner specialty
Master’s Entry Program in Nursing (MEPN) Certificate, June 1998
University of California San Francisco, School of Nursing
R.N. pre-licensure program.
B.A. cum laude , Art, May 1988
Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH
Teaching
Assistant Clinical Faculty
UCSF School of Nursing, Graduate and Post-Graduate Divisions
July 2005-Present
Clinical Instructor
UCSF School of Nursing, Graduate Division
February 2002-Present
Guest Speaker, City College of San Francisco
Drug and Alcohol Counselor Certificate Program
April 2002
Guest Speaker, City College of San Francisco
Drug and Alcohol Counselor Certificate Program
November 2001
Panels and Presentations
“Providing Opiate Treatment to Homeless Heroin Users: The San Francisco Department of Public Health’s Opiate Linkage and Treatment Services System”
American Association fro the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) National Conference
October 2007
“Substance Use Disorders: Intoxication, Withdrawal, and Associated Dangers”
Progress Foundation, San Francisco, CA
October 2007
“Motivational Interviewing”
San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center
UCSF Psychiatry Resident Training Program
September 2007
“Motivational Interviewing for Allied Health Professionals”
Potrero Hill Health Center Annual Staff Retreat, Berkeley, CA
August 2007
“Substance Use Disorders: Intoxication, Withdrawal, and Associated Dangers”
Progress Foundation, San Francisco, CA
May 2007
“Co-Occurring Disorders”
Staff Education
San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center,
Mental Health Rehabilitation Facility
April – May 2007
“Evidence Based Treatment of Treatment Resistant Mood Disorders”
Northern California Psychiatric Society (NCPS) Annual Conference
April 2007
“Assessment and Treatment of Substance Use Disorders in a Primary Care Setting”
San Francisco Department of Public Health
Housing and Urban Health Clinic
Feb 2005
“Dual Diagnosis Clinical Care.”
Progress Foundation, San Francisco, CA
November 2004
“The New Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Competencies: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Practice.”
National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) Annual Meeting
April 2004
“Alcohol Withdrawal Assessment and Treatment for Patients with HIV/AIDS”
UCSF AIDS Education and Training Center
March 2004
“Psychiatric Training for HIV Care Providers: Diagnostic and Treatment Skills”
UCSF AIDS Education and Training Center
May 2002
“Collaborative Models of Care.”
California Associations of Social Rehabilitation Agencies, Annual Conference.
April 2002
Writing
Forster, P. & Tierney, M. (2004). “Substance Abuse in Patients with Depression and Anxiety.” Journal of the San Francisco Medical Society, 77(5): 20-22.
Tierney, M (2003). “Dual diagnosis and you.” In BayMoods, newsletter of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), San Francisco, Winter 2003/2004.
Tierney, M (2003). “How Carbohydrates May Modulate Mood.” In BayMoods, newsletter of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA), San Francisco, Summer 2003.
Professional Affiliations
Medical Staff San Francisco General Hospital
Clinical Faculty UCSF School of Nursing
American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA), California Chapter, Advance Practice Committee Member
Licenses
- California CNS License, Active
- California R.N. License, Active
- California N.P. License, Active
- DEA Controlled substance dispensing license, Active
- American Heart Association, CPR and BLS for Healthcare Providers, Active
Honors, Awards
Van Castricum Scholarship Recipient, University of California, San Francisco, 1998 & 1999.
Hinckley Scholarship for Community Service, First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Francisco, 1998 & 1999.